For business owners, a business checking account is one of the most valuable tools you have at your disposal, provided it has all the right features. While all good business checking accounts come with a business debit card, you may need multiple debit cards so you can empower your team to handle expenses and day-to-day tasks.
Debit cards can be used to manage your budget, and multiple debit cards can help you break your budget down by department. Your sales team can cover its expenses with one card, while your marketing team can cover its spend with another. Department heads and team leads can purchase what they need without cumbersome approval processes—and you can eliminate the need for expense reports if employees aren’t using their personal credit or debit cards to book travel or make other business purchases.
In this article, we’ll cover the benefits of using your business debit card, and how having multiple debit cards for you and your team can make budgeting and expense management easier.
Why should I use a business debit card?
Debit cards eliminate the need to carry cash and don’t come with the same high interest rates as credit cards. Most people are already using debit cards for personal expenses. A business debit card gives you additional benefits.
Protect your finances
Using a business debit card is much more secure than cash and gives you added protection from potential fraud threats. Many banks track purchase patterns and alert their business customers when spending behavior seems out of place.
Track spending easily
All your transactions will show up in your business banking dashboard so you can see what you and your team are spending. This is good for cost analysis and adds an additional layer of security. You should be able to detect suspicious activity immediately.
Stay on budget
Unlike a business credit card, your business debit card will help you limit your spending to the money you have available in your account. This helps you avoid having to pay potentially high interest rates and late payment fees that could put your budget off track.
Can businesses have multiple debit cards for the same account?
The answer to this question depends on which bank you use. Many online banks allow you to order additional debit cards that you can assign to individual employees. You’ll likely pay a fee for them, but the ability to segregate expenses more than makes up for that. Other bank accounts may even offer additional debit cards for free.
What are the benefits of having multiple debit cards for my business checking account?
Sharing your physical debit card with employees creates opportunities for fraud and misuse. It also puts you in a position where you need to get the card back from them to make your own purchases. That might work in a two-person operation, but it’s inconvenient when you have multiple departments or employees traveling to distant places, or a team spread across the state or country. Here are some other benefits of having multiple debit cards for your business checking account:
Empower co-owners
If your business checking account only lets you have one debit card, co-owners will need to share a card and PIN. If you’re operating out of different locations, multiple debit cards make it easier for each owner/employee to manage their own card. The funds still come out of a single account, so monitoring everyone’s company spending is simple and straightforward.
Securely share with your team
Having multiple debit cards allows you to delegate tasks to authorized users so they can make necessary business purchases. A good example of this is a sales rep who makes their own airline and hotel reservations. With a company debit card, they’ll no longer need to use their personal credit card and submit an expense report. You’ll need to have a spending policy to make this work—restricting where company debit cards can be used and how much can be spent at a time without written approval.
Track team spending
The online dashboard for your business debit cards tells you exactly which card was used for purchases, so you can monitor spending across your team. This can help your company cut costs and detect fraudulent or redundant expenses. Reporting happens in real-time, so you can make adjustments and keep team spending under control at all times.
Order from anywhere
Some banks might require you to go to a physical branch to order additional debit cards for your account. Online-only banks let you skip that trip and order additional cards online or over the phone. Certain online checking accounts also give you the opportunity to earn interest on your business checking balances if you qualify.
Get the high-yield business checking account that lets you add multiple debit cards for your team.
